Friday, April 4, 2014

An American Idol Heartthrob Gets Saved

Thursday (April 3) was Sam Woolf's lucky day. The resident "American Idol" heartthrob was voted out of the competition, but will live to sing another day after the judges agreed to use their one save for the season on the 17-year-old from Bradenton, Florida.

Here's how the results episode went down.

Sam Gets Saved
Woolf joined the ranks of Matt Giraud (Season 8), Michael Lynche (Season 9), Casey Abrams (Season 10) and Jessica Sanchez (Season 11) when the judges awarded him the season's lone save. It came after Woolf wound up in the Bottom Three for the second straight week, and third week overall.

Woolf sang David Gray's "Babylon" in his attempt to sway the judges, but they seemed to have already made up their minds. As the crowd chanted, "save him," Jennifer Lopez took the microphone with little hesitation. "We are unanimous," she said. "We are going to use the save tonight."

Confetti rained down from the ceiling as Woolf was hoisted in the air by his fellow contestants. It was an exuberant moment, but Woolf still has an uphill climb ahead of him as the screams from the girls in the studio audience still aren't translating to viewer votes.

Malaya, C.J. In The Bottom
Malaya Watson and C.J. Harris both made their second appearances in the Bottom 3 when they joined Woolf in the "Idol" basement. It was Harris' second time in the Bottom 3 in a row, and Watson's first appearance since the Top 13.

Of the remaining singers, only Alex Preston, Caleb Johnson and Jessica Meuse have yet to make an appearance in the Bottom 3.

Daughtry Performs
Chris Daughtry — whose surprise elimination in "Idol's" fifth season was one of the reasons the judge's save rule was enacted — returned to the "Idol" stage to perform his single "Waiting for Superman."

The song is the first single from Daughtry's album "Baptized," released in September 2013. The album has sold 202,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Top 8 Take On The '80s
Next week, the Top 8 performs again, this time taking on songs of the 1980s -- a decade in which none of the contestants were alive, it's worth noting.